“If there Were No NFIUs, They Should be Invented”

Lieutenant General Manfred Hofmann, the Commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) based in Szczecin, Poland, visited Hungary. As part of his visit the General met Major General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff for Co-ordination, and also had discussions with Colonel László Garas, the recently resigned first Commander of the NATO Force Integration Unit Hungary (NFIU HUN), and his successor, Colonel István Topor.

The decision was taken in 2014 in Wales at the NATO Summit that organisations functioning as international military headquarters should be established in altogether eight Member States owing to the changed and still emerging security environment. Since the time of the cold war there has not been taken such a significant step, bolstering common defence in the life of the North Atlantic Organisation, as the establishment of NFIUs in eight Member States. These military organisations are however not military bases, they are integrated into the system of the organisation as command elements. NATO Force Integration Unit Hungary, based in Székesfehérvár reached NATO Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in the summer of 2016, which was followed by activation in the fall.

In reply to the question of honvedelem.hu Lieutenant General Hofmann, resigning his command post in a short time, emphasised that he is convinced that NATO took the right decision about the establishment of the integration units, when the Alliance was faced in Europe again with such security challenges, which has not been experienced for decades in the continent. “We needed these organisations, which are capable to mobilise and deploy the forces of the Alliance, as a situation evolves" – said Lieutenant General Hofmann. As he pointed out the biggest challenge for the participants was the lack of time in the execution of the complex and new task, but after two or three years it is clear that the system works. “The concepts have proved so successful that if there were no NFIUs, they should be invented" – he added.

In terms of the time factor, the Alliance was forced to create the integration units very quickly, which required the close co-operation of the participating countries, as a high readiness system had to be built practically from scratch. “It was necessary to ensure that the units of the system were established according to the same procedure, the same tempo, and the same messages, which is not an unusual challenge for the soldiers, but the time pressure, under which we had to work was anything but ordinary" – Lieutenant general Hofmann said, and also appreciated the smooth co-operation pursued with the Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS). He highlighted that finally they managed to set up and bring into operation everything in time and according to plans. “I would not say that we enjoyed every moment of the process, because time has really pressed, but we all can be satisfied with the professional work and the end-result." – said the Lieutenant General.

General Hofmann speaking about the Hungarian NFIU, praised the work of Colonel László Garas. As he pointed out, also the commanders found themselves in a difficult situation, as the integration units in this form represented a novelty within the NATO organisation. “No one really knew beforehand how a NFIU can be functioning, and the setting up of the channels of communication needed very hard work, too" – he said. -But eventually everybody found his place and role in the process, and the leaders – among them Colonel Garas –stood at the head of the work in no time. Thanks to this, now the system operates professionally. Lieutenant General Hofmann said that in the following phase they would like to deepen the co-operation with the governmental and non-governmental actors of the host nations, as they too play a vital role in the system. He commended Colonel István Topor an experienced professional and suggested him to place a great emphasis on communication, as he believed, that we cannot to sit back and be happy with the results achieved so far, but we should explore ways to further improve the system. He also acknowledged the professionalism and dedication of the experts serving within the NFIUs.